A/N: I do not own His Dark Materials.

Chapter 4: Back in the South

Marissa Coulter sat in despair and depressed as she took another sip from her cup of coffee. Putting the cup back on the table, Mrs. Coulter observed what she was looking. It was a golden locket with a photograph of her dear Lyra, when she was only an infant. From what she understood, it was taken shortly before the death of her husband, Edward Coulter, at the hands of her former lover, Lord Asriel Belacqua.

Speaking of Lord Asriel, Marissa was having her lunch; coffee and some sandwiches with the local goat cheese, shortly after she and Father Hugh MacPhail were interrogating him. They didn't question him about his plans, his theories, as back then in the North, they ransacked his laboratory, confiscating all his notes, sketches and equipment, which was now studied by the Magisterium. What they did ask him was who else knew about his ideas and followed them.

From what Coulter understood, Stanislaus Grumman supported Lord Asriel's ideas and led an expedition of his own, but he was now dead. Apparently killed either by Tartars or by Iofur Raknison. However, a dead scholar wasn't enough for her superiors from the Magisterium. She knew what they needed; evidence proving that Lord Asriel was working either for Jordan College, or with Jordan College. According to some of Lord Carlo Boreal's sources, despite the heretical context of Asriel's lecture at Jordan, the college financed his last expedition to the North.

When the Holy Church received the news that not only the old professors listened to Lord Asriel when he told them about Dust, but also gave him money for his scheme, the Consistorial Court of Discipline was not only enraged, but also glad. For centuries, tensions between theologies and the Holy Church has existed, and now, the Magisterium saw Lord Asriel's arrest as their chance to make a strike. They were forging a case, describing a conspiracy involving Jordan College, with Lord Asriel and the Master of Jordan College being the leaders of these heretics.

Marissa knew what this meant if they managed to prove their accusations. This would give the Holy Church the full authority to attack Jordan College, since they officially violated their academic rights. A series of purges would begin. Marissa knew that the Holy Church would start with the Master, first of all, though she knew that the old man had nothing to do with it. The day after her return to Geneva with a captive Asriel, she was sent back to Oxford. She questioned the Master personally. He revealed that one the day of Lord Asriel's return, he attempted to poison him. Marissa had to give credit; the old scholar had a quite clever plan; poison the Tokay, Lord Asriel's beloved wine.

However, Marissa was impressed and grateful for the Master that he tried to poison her former lover purely to protect Lyra.

"The alethiometer told me that Lyra would go on a long journey," he told her. "And that she would commit a betrayal. I don't know what it was, but it was somehow related to Lord Asriel. I counted that in order to protect the innocent child from that, I had to get rid of Belacqua. Somehow, he knew about the poison. I don't know how, but he knew."

"Thank you, Doctor Carne," Marissa told him. "You did everything you could. Do you have any idea where Lyra can be?"

"The last time I saw her was when you took her from us," the old man answered. Marissa heard anger in his voice. "I trusted you! And now she's gone!"

Marissa knew that he blamed her for losing Lyra, and she couldn't blame him. The girl discovered that she was the chairman of the General Oblation Board, and frightened, she escaped. They reunited in Bolvangar, only for Marissa to lose her again. Now, the woman feared that she lost her baby girl forever.

Now, the Master was doomed, just like the majority of the scholars and theologists of Jordan College. Marissa knew, however, that this would not end with Jordan College. With Jordan purged, the Holy Church would then turn their attention to the other colleges of Oxford. Once the Inquisition would be re-established, full waves of purges and repressions would spark across the world.

So, Father McPhail and her spent days and nights interrogating Lord Asriel. But the stubborn bastard was… stubborn. Even physical torture on him and his daemon Stelmaria did not help. Sometimes, Marissa got the chance of interrogating him alone, and she always gave him only one question.

Where. Was. Lyra.

Marissa Coulter knew that she was a cruel and cold-blooded woman, not letting attachments get in her way when it came to power and influence. Especially within the Holy Church. When she gave birth to Lyra, who was the result of an affair, and brought shame to her husband's family, Marissa wanted to do nothing with her daughter.

But as time went on, and Mrs. Coulter became a widow, she was filled with love and concern for her daughter. With her taking over the General Oblation Board, and leading the abduction of children across England, Marissa understood that sooner or later, agents of the General Oblation Board, or, the Gobblers, would accidentally kidnap her Lyra, which she could not allow. So, she decided to take her daughter to London and keep her safe within her apartment. She would have still had her with her, safe and sound, if not for that fricking reporter Adèle Starminster.

Though, on second thought, maybe it was good that Lyra wasn't with her right now. Marissa was entrusted with a project that was aimed to eradicate the influence of Dust, which the Magisterium viewed as the original sin, on children. She was given a base of operations, Bolvangar, experimental theologists and troops at her disposal, and she failed. The station was destroyed. The troops guarding the station were killed. Many of the theologists were killed, only a couple or more survived. Then Iofur Raknison was overthrown, and Lord Asriel, who was kept under arrest, was freed. The General Oblation Board was supposed to be the final step to the peak of her career and she failed to reach it. She failed the Holy Church.

Although she helped the Magisterium in capturing Lord Asriel once again, just when he was intending to execute his plans, Marissa wasn't sure what the Consistorial Court of Discipline thought of her now. Marissa was positive that right now, they were deciding her fate. So, maybe it was a blessing that Lyra wasn't with her now, or else they could have taken her away from her.

Still, she tried to extract the location of her daughter from Lord Asriel, but it was unsuccessful. After hours of questioning and heavy physical torture, Marissa gave up. He may be broken physically, the once tall and powerfully built aristocrat turned into a cripple, but he wasn't broken mentally. Not yet. Despite failing to open a window into another world, Lord Asriel still claimed that the Magisterium would fall, but most importantly, the Authority would be overthrown.

Sighing heavily, an exhausted Marissa back then stared at Asriel as he lied on the cold floor. He was already skinny and pale, after days of not being fed, kept in a freezer for hours, electrocuted. Same could be said about his snow leopard daemon Stelmaria, who was lying nearby, also tortured.

"Asriel," she spoke. "I'm not going to ask you where's Lyra again, for I know you'll never give her away, and I give you credit for that. But there is one question that I want you to answer me. And I want the truth, Asriel. If there was no child with Lyra when she came to you, would you have used her for your experiment?"

Asriel looked up at her. Silence reigned as if for eternity. He finally answered. Not having the strength to speak, Asriel nodded. Filled with rage, Marissa tried her best not to lash out at her former lover. Standing up, she exited the cell and turned to the guards.

"You may continue," she simply told them and left while the guards returned to the cell and continued torturing the prisoner.

Taking another sip of her coffee, Marissa turned her look from the locket to the beautiful landscape of the snow-covered Alps. Though she found no joy in seeing the mountains. Not to mention she lost her appetite. Leaving her lunch unfinished, Marissa stood up and left the table after grabbing her coat and scarf, with her daemon strolling right behind her.

Her journey within the College of St. Jerome ended when she finally reached her target – Fra Pavel, the alethiometrist for the Consistorial Court of Discipline. He was greatly known for his nervousness, as he displayed it when he immediately saw Marissa, and that he was slow when it came to reading the alethiometer.

Shortly after it was clear that extracting information from Lord Asriel was going to be hard, if not impossible, MacPhail ordered for Fra Pavel to seek answers to the questions. Marissa also asked him to find out where's Lyra, but ordered the nervous and frightened man to keep the answer a secret from everyone. Seeing her, the alethiometrist understood what she came for.

"Well?" Marissa rather rudely asked him, enough to make Pavel shiver.

"Well," he began. "I'm afraid I discovered something that may be considered… heretical about Lyra Belacqua, Mrs. Coulter."

"What is it?" she asked in fear.

"The thing is…" he hesitantly spoke. "The thing is… she was supposed to follow Lord Asriel into the other world, and fulfil a prophecy. But since Lord Asriel failed, thus she did not leave this world, and the prophecy will never be fulfilled."

"What was the prophecy?" Marissa asked. Pavel gulped.

"She was supposed to be the new Eve."

When she heard that, Marissa felt that she was about to collapse. Anyone. Anyone but Lyra. Why her? Wait, but she was supposed to the new Eve. Which meant, she was no longer a threat, and would never ever bring the Fall. Marissa feared that this would not calm the Magisterium down.

"Not a word about this, Pavel," Marissa hissed. "Not a word or believe me, I'll make you suffer."

"Y-you h-have my w-word, Mrs. Coulter." Pavel trembled in fear along with his frog daemon.

"Good, but that does not answer my question. Where is she?"

"She's with the Panserbjørne." Pavel answered.

"What?!" she yelled, causing his daemon hide.

"She's with Iorek Byrnisson, the king of Svalbard. She lives with him." Pavel explained.

"Svalbard? Well, I guess I have to visit it again, but this time with arms and men." Marissa said when she suddenly heard a familiar voice. A voice she hadn't heard for a long time.

"You won't do such thing."

Angry for interference, Marissa turned and was about to yell at the intruder but froze when she saw who it was. It was a young man with blonde hair, just like hers, and in his early 30s. His daemon was a snowy owl with yellow eyes and was quite observant. Marissa recognized the young man.

"Marcel?"

"Sister," her brother, Marcel Delamere, answered.